Most of us don’t like to think about it much, but sooner or later, we’re bound to experience some kind of big emergency.

“Sustained power outages, deep snow, an earthquake, a flood, a terrorist incident…anything that could interfere with people’s ordinary way of life,” said Barb Graff, Director of the Seattle Office of Emergency Management.

She says designating all of the city’s 90 P-Patches as community hubs was an easy decision, because they’re already natural gathering places.

“People do this organically. When we’ve all been impacted by something like a big earthquake, we go outside, we look to each other. Literally, it’s just a place people can go if they need help or they can help,” with things like shutting off water or gas lines, or watching a neighbor’s child while a parent goes to find the other, Graff said.

Community hubs are not places to find public officials or first responders in an emergency. But she says just putting up the signs has already inspired some communities to organize more by getting training as a ham-radio operators or setting up email lists to exchange information.

Community Garden P-Patch Coordinator Julie Bryan agrees the gardens are a good fit.

“A lot of our gardens, they’re seen as community gardens, but not necessarily for you and me if we don’t garden. And also gardeners have some issues that are around petty theft and vandalism. And the more we all have a sense of ownership and of belonging and of participation in a place, the better off and the safer we are,” Bryan said.

When more of the community feels involved, she says it’s less common to see a row of tomatoes or flowers at a P-Patch torn out.

Although the P-Patches are supposed to be informal gathering spaces, the Department of Neighborhoods is encouraging people to apply for project grants. The department can award up to $5,000 to pay for things like emergency supply sheds, whiteboards and ham radios once community leadership is in place.

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As part of earthquake preparedness, Seattle has identified community hubs where people can gather after a quake. On Saturday, the hubs will be activated for an exercise. But, there are no hubs in some of the city’s most popular neighborhoods, including Belltown, Downtown, the Central District and Capitol Hill.

Seattle started its first city-sponsored P-Patch program 40 years ago. To help mark the anniversary, the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) is holding its national conference here. Gardeners from more than 30 states and six foreign countries are attending.

The next time a big wildfire erupts or an earthquake unleashes near you, Twitter, Google and Facebook might be useful places to turn. And not just you. Disaster response agencies are plunging into social media.

They can develop better situational awareness by seeking out your online gripes and observations. Digital platforms also provide an avenue to give more frequent official updates and correct misinformation during a catastrophe.

Local and federal responders plan to rehearse how they’d handle the fiery crash of an oil train in Seattle – a hypothetical disaster that will play out around a table in King County.

King County’s Emergency Management Department is coordinating with about a dozen different agencies in what they call a “tabletop exercise.” Staff will present the scenario, and responders around the table or on the phone then go through the motions of what happens next.

“Let’s say [it's] just a day like today, a nice wonderful day in Seattle. Oil train derails, oil spills, ignites, there's a large fireball in the sky,” said department director Walt Hubbard. “Who would you coordinate with? How would you communicate?”

Do you have an app on your smartphone that sends you a text message reminding you to exercise? Or one that alerts you when the bus is going to be late? The federal government is also using this sort of push technology to help prepare you for disaster.